What’s the best getaway you’ve ever been on? What would make it about as nearly perfect as anything you could imagine?

I just got back from mine. My church has a rather large staff. There are about 22 or so. Some are ministry staff: senior pastor, worship and arts pastor, youth pastor, etc. Some are directors: tech director, video arts director, etc. Some are office staff: receptionist, ministry assistant, etc. Some are campus staff: preschool staff director, etc. That’s my wife.

So, we went on a two day retreat. Staff, spouses, and kids all went to Gatlinburg, TN to spend time connecting with God and each other. It was AWESOME. First, you have to imagine the logistical challenges of getting 63 people ranging in age from almost 1 to 55 years old from place to place, giving them a bed to sleep in and food to eat.

I was amazed to find when we arrived that each couple had their own room with king sized bed and private bath. In each of the two cabins, we also had common areas on each floor and double bed bunks for the kids. My eldest, a 6 year old, thought it was the greatest thing ever to stay with her friends giggling about little girl stuff until the late, late hour of 10 pm. The boys had a similar time.

Sure, I raced go carts and bungee jumped, but that wasn’t the highlight for me. For me it was spending time with some of my favorite people in the world, eating together, watching movies together, playing games, listening to our pastor’s thought, singing worship songs and watching the kids as they sang along to TobyMac from our iPods.

I imagine heaven to be like that–cabins in the mountains with people you love. You don’t lock anything. You wake up (if indeed you sleep at all) and find Jesus making breakfast, just because He loves you.

I loved that weekend. I can’t imagine much that’s better, but I’m only so creative.

So I was thinking about Western society and our relationship to God. It seems to me to parallel a parent-child relationship.

Childhood
So when you’re a child, you think of your parents as people who do no wrong. If there’s a problem, you’re sure that it’s your fault. Mom and Dad can’t be to blame. Likewise, in the early centuries, God was viewed with reverence. If something was wrong, it was assumed that somehow people had done something to cause it. People might disagree on who God is, how many gods there are, etc., but it was generally agreed that people=wrong and the cause of their own calamities.

Teen years into college
This is the time in your life where the flaws in your parents become evident. Now, it could be that you’re seeing flaws that don’t exist, but they’re obvious to you nonetheless. In that same way, beginning with the Enlightenment, western society became more and more suspicious of God, the church, and all. To be sure, the Church, didn’t help on this account. “God’s representatives” had made some big mistakes. These were projected onto God Himself. Questions about God’s character led to questions about His very existence; it wasn’t long ago that God’s death was proclaimed. Rationalism and science were our god and we liked it that way. Like teens we said, in essence, “We don’t need you and your rules; let me lead my life.”

Early Adulthood
I’ve noticed a trend lately that makes me think our society is emerging into early adulthood. People say things like, “Maybe faith is something that will help me in my life.” This is akin to the twenty-something who notices that his parents aren’t as stupid as he thought.

I’ll admit that this isn’t a foolproof analogy, but that it does help me as a way of thinking of history. What do you think?